Electric connector with forked member



April 1957 H. w. BATCHELLER ELECTRIC CONNECTOR WITH FORKED MEMBER Filed May 31, 1955 Hugh W. Batcheller, Newton Highlands, Mass., assignor to Kent Mfg. Corp., Newton, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 31, 1955, Serial No. 511,903

2 Claims. (Cl. 339-258) This invention relates to an electric connector of the male and female type, one of the members being forked and adapted to engage a complementary member to make a good electrical connection. Electric connectors of this type are made in a variety of forms which compete in a highly competitive industry. Any improvement in such connectors which either adds to the efliciency, durability or other desirable characteristic of a connector without increasing the cost, or reduces the cost without sacrificing some desirable quality of the connector is liable to be of significant importance.

According to the present invention a novel connector is provided which is characterized by great simplicity and east of manufacture but which compares favorably with other varieties of connectors of this type in performance. This connector is hereinafter described and is illustrated on the drawing, of which- Figure l is a perspective view of the two members of a connector embodying the invention, separated from each other;

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the members joined;

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

The connector illustrated on the drawing comprises two members and 12, the former being essentially a plane, forked element, the latter being c-omplemental to the member 10. Both members can be made from pieces of sheet metal such as brass. The member 10 is a V-shaped, flat element having parallel arms 14 and 16 separated by a space 17 and a Wire-gripping portion comprising fingers 18 and 20 to be curled around the stripped end portion 22 of a wire and around the adjacent insulation 24 of the wire.

The member 12 has a plane floor with two parallel elements 32 and 34 struck up therefrom. Each of these elements has a vertically rising portion 36 terminating in a top flange 38 which projects in a nearly horizontal direction to overhang a portion of the hole formed in the nited States Patent floor when the element is struck up therefrom. The upstanding portions 36 of the elements 32 and 34 are so spaced that their mutually remote surfaces are spaced apart a distance slightly less than the width of the space 17 between the arms of the member 10. Thus when the members are joined, the upstanding elements 36 are practically in contact with the inner edges of the arms 14 and 16. The flanges 38 at their junction with the upstanding elements 36 are spaced above the plane of the floor 30 a little more than the stock thickness of the fork 10 but the flanges bend slightly outward and downward, as indicated in Figure 4 so that when the member 10 is joined to the member 12, the outer or terminal edge of each flange 38 bears strongly on the top face of the corresponding arm of the fork 10 and resiliently presses the arm against the portion of the floor adjacent to the hole beneath the flange. The entering end of each arm 14 and 16 may be beveled as at 40 to cam the flange 38 upward as it enters thereunder. The flanges 38 are thus sprung upward to a more nearly horizontal position, the resultant distortion of the flanges and the upstanding elements 36 providing the restoring forces which press the flanges against the arms of the member 10 and press the arms against the floor of the member 12.

I claim:

1. An electric connector comprising two interengageable members adapted to be secured to the ends of wires, one said member having a plane U-shaped portion with parallel arms adapted to engage the other said member, said other member having a plane floor with two elements struck up therefrom, each element having an upstanding portion parallel to the corresponding portion of the other element and a flange along the top of each upstanding portion extending away from the other element and sloping slightly downward, said elements being so spaced apart as to fit between the arms of said U- shaped member, the outer edges of said flanges being spaced above said floor a distance slightly less than the thickness of said arms.

2. An electric connector comprising two interengaged members adapted to be secured to the ends of wires, one said member having a plane U-shaped portion with spaced parallel arms, the other said member having a plane floor on which said arms bear and two elements projecting up from said floor between said arms, each of said elements having a terminal edge extending parallel to said arms and bearing resiliently against the upper face of one of said arms.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,336,385 Batcheller Dec. 7, 1943 2,685,074 Lazzery July 27, 1954 2,731,617 Doane Jan. 17 1956 

